Every Reason We Shouldn't by Sara Fujimura

Mar 27, 2020 chan ☆ added it

Shelves: ya-contemporary, dnf, 2020

dnf @20%

cute but not what i'm in the mood for at the moment tbh. YA contemporaries are pretty hit or miss for me anyway

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Feb 17, 2020 The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori) rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, arc, kindle, young-adult, 2020-releases

Full Review on The Candid Cover

3.5 Stars

Every Reason We Shouldnt by Sara Fujimura seemed like the perfect book for me since I am a big fan of any story about skating. While I did enjoy this concept, I had many issues with the book, including the immature main character and the lack of discussion around the sensitive topics presented. I didnt hate this book, but it was not what I was expecting.

❀ A SKATING STORY

This book tells the story of Olivia, a figure skater adjusting to life outside the rink Full Review on The Candid Cover

3.5 Stars

Every Reason We Shouldn’t by Sara Fujimura seemed like the perfect book for me since I am a big fan of any story about skating. While I did enjoy this concept, I had many issues with the book, including the immature main character and the lack of discussion around the sensitive topics presented. I didn’t hate this book, but it was not what I was expecting.

❀ A SKATING STORY

This book tells the story of Olivia, a figure skater adjusting to life outside the rink and trying to save her family’s business. When speed skater Jonah Choi starts training at her family’s rink, Olivia finds herself falling for him. I love any book about skating, and it was nice to see two different types of skating (as well as roller derby) represented in the book. I also found it interesting how the story talks about being “washed up” at 15 and the difficulties that come with coming back to sports after taking a break. This adds some depth to the book and makes it more than just a romance.

❀ MAIN CHARACTER IS IMMATURE

One of my biggest issues with the book was the main character. I found Olivia to be selfish and immature, and she almost disregards the problems in everyone else’s life and sees her own as more important. I did like how passionate she is about skating and how she perseveres to get her dream back, but I couldn’t get past how whiny she is. Jonah is not as annoying as Olivia, but the two of them have this whole “we aren’t like everyone else” mentality, and the way they isolate themselves is a bit elitist and off-putting.

❀ SERIOUS TOPICS AREN’T HANDLED WELL

Another aspect of the book that I didn’t love was the writing itself. While I did appreciate the discussion of more serious topics, I feel that there are a couple of topics that are not handled properly. For instance, there is a school lockdown scene that comes across as an excuse for Jonah to say “I love you” for the first time. It is an incredibly sensitive topic and clearly disturbing for Olivia, but it is never brought up again or truly unpacked. As well, the main characters’ unhealthy relationship with food is never really commented on, and this could be triggering to some readers. Along with these jarring moments, I also had issues with the way the characters speak. It comes across as though the author is trying way too hard to sound like a teenager with her excessive use of slang like, “extra” and “that’s the tea, sis.” I appreciate the effort to relate to a younger audience, but in this case, it went overboard.

❀ A FANTASTIC PREMISE, BUT A BIT UNSATISFYING

Every Reason We Shouldn’t has a fantastic premise, but other than that, much of the book didn’t satisfy me. The main character is selfish, and sensitive topics are not handled as well they should be. In my eyes, I definitely don’t think this book needs a sequel. ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Marija (Inside My Library Mind) rated it did not like it

More reviews up on my blog Inside My Library Mind

First of all, I really did not enjoy the characters. Olivia and Jonah did nothing for me. I found them to be really flat characters, and moreover, I couldnt quite comprehend any of their struggles or issues, because none of them really made sense. Moreover, Olivia was pretty much awful at times. For example, when her best friend was explaining how she would love to go back and do high school differently, Olivia said something along the lines of ...more

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Mar 09, 2020 Ahana M Rao (Heart’s Content) rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, romance, made-me-cry, broke-my-heart, tbr-arcs, arcs, edelweiss, netgally-arcs

You can find this review of Every Reason We Shouldn't on my blog, Heart's Content!

Received an Advanced Readers Copy from the publisher, Tor Teen, via Edelweiss+ and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Every Reason We Shouldnt is a very special book, because it addresses a variety of issues and all of them manage to stir emotions in you and have you connect to the protagonists. I loved seeing Japanese and Korean culture and I was squealing at all the parts that I recognised You can find this review of Every Reason We Shouldn't on my blog, Heart's Content!

Received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from the publisher, Tor Teen, via Edelweiss+ and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Every Reason We Shouldn’t is a very special book, because it addresses a variety of issues and all of them manage to stir emotions in you and have you connect to the protagonists. I loved seeing Japanese and Korean culture and I was squealing at all the parts that I recognised (*looking at you KDrama*) and just joyous to see asian rep.

Olivia is a very very lovely protagonist and I think for a fifteen year old, she handled situations much better at her age than I would in some of those same situations at my age. She was … alone in many ways and a lot of her very genuine problems she had to come to terms with on her own (due to circumstance) and my heart truly broke for her during those moments. I felt for her, I really did. I also love that she cut her hair, fierce pixie style. Jonah was a real darling. I honestly expected to see a mildly conceited hero, because of all that he’d achieved and at such a young age. But he wasn’t. He was just a normal boy, who put it a lot of effort into what he loved and was finally living–even if only a little–the life of a teenage boy. I did love seeing the relationship he had with his parents and how it wasn’t messed up like I’d expected it to be, given that his father was a large part of his athletic career. Added to this, I loved how Jonah and Olivia had their own balance, how understanding they were of one another’s situations and had their own little world–all of which doesn’t take away from the small hiccups in their relationship.

Mack. My heart really went out to Mack, no doubt. Of all the characters, I think perhaps she was my utter and absolute favourite. Not only does she already have a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, she’s also always always there for Olivia. So much so, that Olivia looks to Mack in times of trouble. But at the same time, Mack’s shown as being very human, with her own moments of short-temperedness, loss and weakness. I really do hope we see her story next. Stuart, fondly referred to as Egg (I have to say that nickname was ingenious) was a very interesting character and … I can’t place it exactly, but I’m not sure if I like him or not, I just know I had lots to take away from him.

My only issue with the book was pertaining to the first thing I said. The fact that it handles so very many things renders it incapable of handling everything well. Sometimes, some of the things have to be smoothed over a little too easily or handled very very swiftly to fit everything in. Because of the importance of each topic, I felt like I wanted to see the issues being solved; no, I needed to see it being solved because so much of Olivia’s pain, I have felt too and so there was that little bit of unfulfillment that I experienced. But did that take away from how much I sniffled through the book? Nope-sie-daisey.

Four stars! I would definitely definitely definitely recommend ERWS with all my heart. Sara *finger hearts all the way to you*. Though I will warn you, yes, there’s humour, but there’s a lot of emotion in this book. ❤ Happy reading! ...more

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Feb 17, 2020 USOM rated it liked it

(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

I was initially drawn to Every Reason We Shouldn't for a few reasons. Number one, skating. Ever since "Cutting Edge" I will read anything ice skating focused and this certainly fills a niche. That being said, there isn't that same romantic, will-they-won't-they as in that film and there aren't pair competitions so just know that the only comp between those is that there are just two (Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

I was initially drawn to Every Reason We Shouldn't for a few reasons. Number one, skating. Ever since "Cutting Edge" I will read anything ice skating focused and this certainly fills a niche. That being said, there isn't that same romantic, will-they-won't-they as in that film and there aren't pair competitions so just know that the only comp between those is that there are just two characters who are skating professionals (speed skating and pairs figure skating).

Number two, I thought this was going to be an ownvoices biracial/Asian rep situation. You can say I should have done more research before reading, but only when I sat down to write this review did I find out that it is not ownvoices rep. Instead it is written from the perspective of, presumably a white, woman who married a Japanese partner with biracial children. She wanted to write the rep that her children wish they saw. I also want to say I am not a biracial Asian American so I also do not have an ownvoices perspective <.b>

Let's start with what I liked about Every Reason We Shouldn't. The scenes on the ice were great. I loved that it gives you a skating scene whether that be the competition or the feeling of being free on the ice. I ice skate for fun, but I have loved that feeling of weightlessness, of gliding. Secondly, I liked that both Jonah and Olivia are handling this life of being an aspiring professional - training all the time and intensely goal oriented - but also what a 'teenage' experience might be. I loved the side character of Mack. She's a single mother who loves roller derby and wants to join a team.

But,

I feel like the summary makes it seem like there will be this long drawn out angst - sort of "Cutting Edge" vibes - and if you were prepared for that, then just re-evaluate your expectations. I also felt like the latter half of Every Reason We Shouldn't sort of felt loosely connected. The pacing took a different turn, but it also felt like all these elements and events were introduced which were never fully resolved.With two aspiring professionals, or even just two people in any relationship, you can encounter one person thinking their career might be more important. I think this is such a great point to bring up, especially with two athletes (and something I've struggled a lot with in the past), but I just wish there was a more satisfying resolution.

The Rep

I want to make this very clear, I am not biracial so I cannot speak to the accuracy of the representation. I couldn't find an ownvoices review to cite either. Definitely go into Every Reason We Shouldn't, knowing it's not ownvoices representation. I do want to mention that in terms of representation, Olivia and Jonah's biracial/multi-racial identity is brought up quite a lot. It's been a bit since I read the book, but as someone who's life has been deeply touched as being Asian, I do not have any real notes about the ways their identity was mentioned in a deep way. By that I mean, in Our Wayward Fate Chao talks a lot about growing up in the minority and what it means about the jokes people make, the ways we self-erase and internalize. The deep and profound ways our experience is changed. And I cannot remember any ways in which this was mentioned in Every Reason We Shouldn't. I didn't just finish so I want to apologize in advance if I've missed something as I'm so behind on reviews.

I also want to make it clear that I am not saying that all books which feature POC characters have to be books that revolve solely around their identity or are "issue" books, I just wanted to give a comparison to some other books I have read. We deserve fun fluffy contemporary romances, messy characters, questions on every level.

As someone who has struggled to find representation in books and the YA sphere specifically as a transracial adoptee, I know how hard it is. I am in no way trying to invalidate Fujimara's desire to write representation that would have helped her children growing up or feel represented in the YA sphere. I also deeply identify with the struggle finding Asian representation. I just wanted to make sure other readers did not go into this thinking that it would be ownvoices like I did.

full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi... ...more

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Jan 22, 2020 Erin marked it as dnf

Shelves: netgalley

I wanted to give this a solid effort but the writing is just so juvenile and tries too hard to be hip. I can't read a book that uses the phrase 'awko-taco' in its prose.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Dec 20, 2019 liberty rated it liked it

I received an ARC of this on Net Galley, and was beyond excited to read it.

This book is about our main character, Olivia, and her journey finding herself on the ice again. She finds love on the way, and strengthens bonds with her family and friends.

While I love the premise of this, there were a few things that didn't work.
For one, this is not how teenagers talk. I know that the author definitely tried, and even used the phrase "that't the tea, sis," but a lot of the dialogue didn't work for ...more

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Mar 03, 2020 Becky rated it liked it

3.5 stars

This is a story which follows Olivia, a 15 year old figure skater who tries to adapt to life as a "normal" teenager after a disastrous performance puts her future as a proffesional in doubt. When dedicated speed skater Jonah Choi comes to Ice Dreams, her family's rink, a romance blossoms and both realise there may be more to life than just skating.

A few things I liked about this book:

- First off, I have an unending love for sports romances. This is widely documented. This kind of book 3.5 stars

This is a story which follows Olivia, a 15 year old figure skater who tries to adapt to life as a "normal" teenager after a disastrous performance puts her future as a proffesional in doubt. When dedicated speed skater Jonah Choi comes to Ice Dreams, her family's rink, a romance blossoms and both realise there may be more to life than just skating.

A few things I liked about this book:

- First off, I have an unending love for sports romances. This is widely documented. This kind of book automatically appeals to me
- Olivia is fiercely determined to be the best in her field. When people tell her she isn't good enough, she tells them she is and tries even harder to prove that to everyone, herself incuded.
- Despite wanting to try and achieve some kind of 'normal' teen life, neither Jonah nor Olivia let their romance obstruct their skating goals - yes, there are some hurt feelings ocassionally, but for the most part they both understand that their career comes first and that sometimes, that sucks.
- Mack. I adore everything about her. A young Mum recieving very little help from the child's father - financially or otherwise, who still has ambitions of her own and doesn't let the hard parts of life get her down. She acts as a mother figure to Olivia despite only being a few years older. I just love her. She's precious and deserves the world.
- Good representation in terms of race and culture.

Things I had issue with or wasnt very fond of:

- Olivia's treatment of her 'normal' friends. On multiple occasions she blew off plans with them either for Jonah or for skating or Egg or whatever.
- Olivia and Jonah's elitist attitude - they constantly referred to their friends as 'normal' and acted as though they were better than them and like they 'wouldn't get it'. Her friends were nothing but kind and accepting the whole book despite Olivia being shitty to them and honestly, they deserve more credit.
- A lot of things seemed to happen that deserved some focus, but were forgotten in an instant. The school went on lockdown in one chapter and by the next, it was old news, never to be mentioned again. Surely a topic like that deserved to be unpacked at least a little given the psychological impact it had on Olivia?
- Olivia and Egg. Them being skating partners and having a brother/sister relationship was fine, but he treated her like shit and then was all nicey nicey, then abandoned a minor in a place miles from her home that she wasn't familiar with? Clearly his biggest priority wasn't her safety, despite that being their thing for the entire novel. And he faced very little repercussions for this? And the kiss? WHY? It made no sense and added nothing to the story so why not just leave it out?

Overall I actually had a good time reading it, and I'm definitely interested in picking up a sequel. ...more

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Dec 07, 2019 Dany rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2019-reads, diverse-contemporary, 4-stars

"No regrets?
No regrets"

Every Reason We Shouldn't features my auto add to tbr tropes
🌟Asian Rep
🌟 Controlling parents
🌟High school drama
🌟Not fitting in

RTC

I thank NetGalley and MacMillan for approving my request for this e-ARC. Thjs hasn't affected my opinions . ...more

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Dec 18, 2019 Kate McMurry rated it really liked it

Shelves: multicultural, sports-romance, girl-power, ice-skating

Exciting, PG, multicultural, YA, sports romance

Olivia Kennedy is the almost-sixteen, biracial daughter of a Japanese-American mother and Euro-American father who are world famous for winning Olympic gold as a fabulously talented figure-skating team. Olivia had figure-skating, Olympic dreams as well, and trained since early childhood toward that lofty goal, until a humiliating failure at a major competition the previous year convinced her that her Olympic potential is gone. Since then, she has ...more

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Feb 13, 2020 Juliana rated it really liked it

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital arc.
Olivia is part of an Olympic family. Her parents are gold medalists who now own an ice skating rink called Ice Dreams. She's skated professionally but her dreams seem to have ended after a terrible finish. When a speed skater and his dad buy out the rink every day for a few hours of practice, Olivia doesn't know if it's a good or bad thing. Little does she know how much Jonah Choi is going to affect her life.
This book was so much more Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital arc.
Olivia is part of an Olympic family. Her parents are gold medalists who now own an ice skating rink called Ice Dreams. She's skated professionally but her dreams seem to have ended after a terrible finish. When a speed skater and his dad buy out the rink every day for a few hours of practice, Olivia doesn't know if it's a good or bad thing. Little does she know how much Jonah Choi is going to affect her life.
This book was so much more fun than I expected. I love ice skating books so add in speed skating AND roller derby? This just got so much more interesting! All the characters are flawed but I loved that. While Olivia and Jonah are not normal teens, they felt genuine to me. Olivia is not quite ready to give up on her Olympic dreams even though she knows deep down that she's not the best. Watching Jonah as he practices every day doubles down on those feelings. Within her skating bubble, there's so much detail about the different types of skating that I loved. From the good with Jonah getting better and better and winning competitions to the bad of her mom dealing with horrendous pain from an old skating injury. It's clear that the author did her research of skating. Throwing in roller derby just made it all the more fun.
The budding romance between Olivia and Jonah was wonderful. It felt real and I couldn't help but smile when they skated together and grew closer. Their growing like/love for each other was adorable. You could feel the love coming off the pages.
The supporting characters were so great and really filled out the story. Mack was my absolute favorite and the story would have been lesser without her. The parents of the story have big problems that make you side with the teens when they have their fights. I also liked Olivia's school friends because it took you out of the skating world and into the normal teen world for a bit. I do feel that last 30 pages was rushed and it could have benefited from a few more chapters. There were actual issues that needed to be solved in a more thorough manner than it was. Still, this is a solid YA book that was a lot more entertaining than I expected. Definitely would recommend this book to anyone looking for a YA romance or has a love of all types of ice skating! ...more

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Feb 29, 2020 Alex marked it as dnf

Shelves: net-galley, young-adult, most-anticipated

dnfed @ 25%

*I received this book from the publisher through Net Galley for an honest review. This does not affect my opinions.

I got 25% into this title and I couldn't continue any further. The main character was very selfish and I was very confused while reading.

The friendship between Mack and Olivia seemed very unlikely! Mack is 20 years old, Olivia is 15. I don't know how common it is for a 20 year old to befriend a 15 year old and become invested in her life. I did like that Mack is a dnfed @ 25%

*I received this book from the publisher through Net Galley for an honest review. This does not affect my opinions.

I got 25% into this title and I couldn't continue any further. The main character was very selfish and I was very confused while reading.

The friendship between Mack and Olivia seemed very unlikely! Mack is 20 years old, Olivia is 15. I don't know how common it is for a 20 year old to befriend a 15 year old and become invested in her life. I did like that Mack is a derby girl. That was really interesting and not something I know a lot about.

For about 20% of the book, I thought Fiona was Mack's dog, but 25% in, I realized she's a teen mother which would make more sense to why she had diapers in her car. This was very confusing to me because the friendship just felt very unlikely. A 15-year old and a 20-year old mom being friends? Not something I would say is realistic.

Also, the fact that Olivia's secret to not skating anymore was because of a bad performance? That felt like a less unique reason to why she will never skate again. Last, the excessive use of teenage slang was brutal. I really couldn't imagine teens saying "He must have Ebola", 'guyliner' and 'awko-taco'. There's so much cringe in this and it felt like the author has never actually talked to a teen.

I appreciated the bi-racial representation as well. But, I couldn't get past the writing to save my life and Olivia was a bratty teen. I would've liked to see Olivia's hardships as she had to care for her mother and felt like she wasn't being taken care of by her own mother, but to read her complain about how taking her mother to PT and seeing her mother break down in tears in front of her just to have Olivia say, "I really wish my mom was healthy enough so she could take care of me for a change" made me furious.

There's also a scene about how Olivia's bruises would get so bad from falling on the ice that CPS would come to her house? Excuse me??

This book had potiential, I just feel that it needs a lot of work. I'm bummed because I was really anticipating this and the concept of ice skating was interesting to me. ...more

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Feb 28, 2020 Deanna (Deanna Reads Books) rated it liked it

This review was originally posted on my review blog Deanna Reads Books
You know I like books about hockey, but I also have a slight interested in ice skating, so this one appealed to me right from the summary. I haven't read a YA book in a little bit, but I thought it did the teenager stuff pretty well. Another blogger asked me what I was thinking about this and they couldn't stand the slang in it. I hadn't really noticed it before they asked me that, but it did seem to use "extra" a little too ...more

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Mar 31, 2020 Kathryn Speckels (Metaphors and Miscellanea) rated it liked it

Reeeeally mixed feelings on this one. Full review coming soon, but here are my initial thoughts:

It was cute, but had quite a few flaws as well. Props for diverse rep but it isn't really ownvoices (the author is white, her kids are biracial, she wrote this book so that kids like hers can see themselves represented) and it didnt always come across as authentic, but I did love Mack, a secondary character who was valedictorian of her high school but ended up a teen mom shortly thereafter. There's a ...more

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Jan 28, 2020 Samantha (WLABB) rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs, romance, ya, contemporary, 2020, 2020diverseread

Olivia thought she had come to terms with the end of her Olympic dreams, but a new fire was lit, when inspiring speed skater, Jonah, began training at her parent's rink. As she attempted to reclaim her place in the skating world, her world outside began to crumble, but would this mark the end of her skating comeback?

Pro: In this kind of story, I needed to be able to root for someone, and I found myself sort of rooting for EVERYONE! Olivia, Jonah, Mack, mom, dad, the business -- I wanted Olivia thought she had come to terms with the end of her Olympic dreams, but a new fire was lit, when inspiring speed skater, Jonah, began training at her parent's rink. As she attempted to reclaim her place in the skating world, her world outside began to crumble, but would this mark the end of her skating comeback?

• Pro: In this kind of story, I needed to be able to root for someone, and I found myself sort of rooting for EVERYONE! Olivia, Jonah, Mack, mom, dad, the business -- I wanted everyone and everything to succeed, and Fujimura did a nice job cycling me through an array of emotions as I awaited all the individual outcomes.

• Pro: I couldn't imagine going from being at the top of my sport to believing I was washed-up at 15. I easily sympathized with Olivia's adjustment to "normal teen life", but I never stopped hoping she would stop moping and mount her comeback.

• Pro: I adored Jonah. He was so focused on his goals. His discipline was admirable, however, I won't say I was sad, when a certain young woman became both a motivation and distraction for him. This let me see his sweet and swoony side, and it was something I was glad I had the opportunity to get acquainted with.

• Pro: Mack was everything you want and need in a best friend. At first, I saw her as the comic relief, but she was so much more than that, and I was so happy that Fujimara gave Mack her own story arc. Believe me, when I say that the Kennedys struck gold the day this young woman walked into their rink.

• Pro: Olivia was still adjusting to life outside the skating world, and she had little support from her parents, as her father was physically absent, and her mother, emotionally absent. My worry was allayed once I met Mack, Jonah, Egg, and even the lunch bunch, who were there to give Olivia much needed pushes, hugs, and encouragement.

• Pro: The romance between Jonah and Olivia was so sweet, adorable, and awkward. I shipped them hard from their first standoff, and was so happy with the way it all played out.

Overall: I loved the time I spent at the rink getting to know Olivia, Jonah, and everyone else in their world, and throughly enjoyed their journey as they reached for their dreams.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS ...more

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Nov 02, 2019 Sarah (Cover to Cover Reviews) rated it really liked it

I'm pretty sure this book marks only the second time I've been THIS excited to get an ARC. (Like, seriously, the last and only other time was when a publisher granted my NetGalley wish to read "Tweet Cute". Worth it.) "Every Reason We Shouldn't" went on my TBR the moment I stumbled across it on GoodReads - at the time, it was so far out it didn't even have a cover yet - so when I saw that it was available on NetGalley, you better believe I smashed that "request" button. And I got it! Why was I ...more

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Jan 14, 2020 Shealea marked it as might-read

* I received a digital ARC of this book (via NetGalley) from its publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Jan 05, 2020 Leah rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya, read-2020, arcs

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Eh.

I'm a bit of a skating media lover (though not an expert by any means!) so I was looking forward to this, but something between the individual elements and the combination of it all didn't altogether work for me. I found Olivia to be a confusing MC: on the one hand fairly average and relatable, dealing with parental issues and falling in love for the first time, but on the other having a pretty big chip on her shoulder based on her perception of herself as a #1 skating star who none of her Eh.

I'm a bit of a skating media lover (though not an expert by any means!) so I was looking forward to this, but something between the individual elements and the combination of it all didn't altogether work for me. I found Olivia to be a confusing MC: on the one hand fairly average and relatable, dealing with parental issues and falling in love for the first time, but on the other having a pretty big chip on her shoulder based on her perception of herself as a #1 skating star who none of her "normal" friends could possibly understand. This was especially hard to swallow because the narrative was pretty back and forth on how talented and/or devoted Olivia actually is to skating. As she gave her impassioned speeches at the end about the importance of having a rink which focuses on the love of skating, I tried to remember if I ever felt that she had a passion for the sport itself - it seemed like she was more focused on the reputation and winning aspects of it, the cachet of being an Olympian.

(Like I said, not an expert, but it seems to me that there's a certain amount of arrogance to believing yourself Olympic-worthy or even potentially Olympic-worthy after taking a big chunk of time off from practicing your sport much less competing.)

Jonah's through line in relation to his sport was much clearer. I appreciated how Apolo Ohno was mentioned as inspirational to him as it's the kind of thing a fan/participant in a less well-known sport would latch onto (and, also being of mixed Asian heritage, the invocation thereof particularly touched on the importance of having exemplars in your field of interest) and I was grateful that the book didn't try to steer him away from his own path to partner with Olivia (and in fact explicitly called out how unlikely and unhelpful it would be). I wasn't, however, overly impressed with him as a love interest. I guess I found him too realistic in some ways rather than the typical rom-com/YA fluff boyfriends. Coming back from competition and doing a reveal of his medals seemed sort of a self-important teen boy move rather than a cute one, and the way he seemed to appreciate Olivia's understanding regarding his own drive and obligations but was unenthusiastic/dubious/unsupportive of her own talents had me side-eyeing. Also, the fact that Olivia was already gunning for him when he was still saying stuff like "slow carbs are crap" at least once a chapter...to each their own, I guess.

As for the supporting characters, I thought Mack was clearly the standout, someone with her own plotline and issues (honestly, more "not going to college/plan B" YA stories - as college admissions get only more competitive and stress inducing, showing interesting, smart, well-rounded characters whose lives don't end with a Stanford rejection is valuable) but whose loyalty to Olivia was lowkey baffling. Stuart/Egg was also interesting along similar lines. As for the school friends, I felt like they existed more for conflict/contrast than to actually be characters of their own. (And the "his girlfriend, Naomi" thing in the epilogue was...not smooth.)

I know other reviewers felt this way in regards to the lockdown scene, that it was only included for brief drama and wasn't given the long-term emotional weight it deserved. I read the book this afternoon and had forgotten that it even happened by the time I was starting to write this review so take from that what you will.

The ending didn't overly impress me from a realism standpoint, but I suppose that it wasn't really that type of book; a sort of magical fix of a seemingly impossible situation is probably a fairly fitting ending.

Maybe recommend to readers looking for light fiction, and who focus on story rather than character or language.

ETA: I went to look the author up to see if she was a Phoenix native herself (I've never been to the city, and was thinking about the description of the school as fairly lacking in Asian students and wondering if she spoke from personal experience) and found that she describes herself on her website as "the American half of our Japanese-American family." As a white person who is married into a Japanese family, who has biracial/bicultural children, and who spends time in Japan, she's almost certainly more knowledgeable than my single white/Jewish self, and I'm hopeful that the cultural references are accurate, but it seems to me that her not being Asian herself makes her talk of over-bearing Asian parents in particular...a little iffier. ...more

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Dec 08, 2019 Happily, Hedy rated it it was amazing

4.5/5
I loved the Asian representation in this book. Very nicely woven themes and developed characters. This is one of those books that I wouldnt get bored rereading. Its such a cute teen romance, one of the better ones Ive read. Many of the situations are relatable tooespecially being compared with other people and not thinking youre enough. A much needed story in the YA genre. I would most definitely recommend it. Critique wise, there was a bit of power and wow missing. It was a really good ...more

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Feb 09, 2020 Sam marked it as dnf

Shelves: netgalley

I ended up DNFing this one pretty quickly. I didn't click with the characters at all, the main character was someone who was a contradictory and didn't make a ton of sense. She cared about ice skating more than anything, but also stopped training for months simply because of some remarks at a competition. This one just wasn't for me.

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Oct 10, 2019 Penzi Hill rated it liked it

A stereotypical look at love, but appreciated for it's candid moments and the diversity of race and class shown. Yes, you will be able to guess the love interest from the moment he walks in the door. Yes, the female protaganist values an almost Tumblr-esque pride about "not being like other girls". Yes, they get together with minimal, if no, conflict because they are just "so in love". I realize that these statements might make it seem like I didn't enjoy this book, but I felt quite the ...more

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Dec 24, 2019 Sacha rated it really liked it

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. Ill post a review near the publication date.

***Updated on 3/3/30...

3.75 stars

From the cover and description, I assumed this book would be a light teen romance and that this romantic relationship would really be the focal point of the work. I am pleasantly surprised that this is not the case at all.

While the romance is an important aspect of the novel, it isn't the only story line. The main character, Olivia, experiences a great deal of growth ...more

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Dec 16, 2019 Megan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, 3-star, read-2019

This was alright but I didn't love it. I found Livy kind of annoying but I dealt with her and I thought her relationship with Jonah was cute, albeit a bit rushed. I really did not like Stuart (Egg). And can I just say - this is the 1st book I've read/reviewed that comes out in 2020 and that is mental! Can't believe we're in the roaring 20s again!

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Feb 27, 2020 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it liked it

Shelves: egalley

I quite liked this, and I read it straight through without switching to something else, so I was engaged from start to finish, despite a slight lag in pace in the middle. If you're looking for a novel that focuses on ice skating (both speed skating and figure skating, this might be what you want.

The blurb of this book makes it sound like it's primarily a romance, but I'd argue that it's not. The romance is a catalyst for change in Olivia's life, but the primary relationship of the novel is I quite liked this, and I read it straight through without switching to something else, so I was engaged from start to finish, despite a slight lag in pace in the middle. If you're looking for a novel that focuses on ice skating (both speed skating and figure skating, this might be what you want.

The blurb of this book makes it sound like it's primarily a romance, but I'd argue that it's not. The romance is a catalyst for change in Olivia's life, but the primary relationship of the novel is Olivia's with skating and her self-confidence, rather than her relationship with Jonah. Not that the romance is bad, mind you, because I do like Jonah and Olivia, and they have some nice chemistry moments, but I'm also not completely obsessed with the ship. Which is good since apparently there's a sequel, and, if I was massively invested in the romance, I'd be less likely to want to read the sequel.

Olivia's going to be a tricky character for people to like, I think. She's this bizarre (but believable) combination of incredibly prideful of her raw talent and also completely terrified that she doesn't have the skill to be a skater. Even while thinking she has the talent, she consistently, at least early on, doesn't put in the work to pursue her Olympic dream, because deep down she's not sure she can do it, and it's one of those things where it's easier to feel like you rejected it than vice versa. Her attitude (caused by a terrible performance that ruined her reputation as she tried to transition to adult pairs skating from juniors) isn't as admirable as that of Jonah, who works his ass off daily and almost never eats anything delicious.

On top of her attitude about skating, Olivia acts very teenage most of the time. She alternates between seeking her neglectful parents' approval and yelling at them about how they're ruining her life. She has real issues with them, but the way she presents them is not mature and reasoned. But I found her attitude all around so incredibly relatable pretty much from start to finish. Olivia's a teenager, and she's a bit of a mess, but who isn't at 15?

Anyway, meeting Jonah and seeing his passion for speed skating makes her question her half-hearted transition to "normal" life and gets her skating again. I don't know much of anything about ice skating I couldn't have learned from Cutting Edge, so I can't comment on the accuracy of pretty much any of that, but I liked reading about the skating stuff, and I'm excited to learn more about how things go in the next book.

Looking at some other reviews, one of the main points of contentions seems to be the ending, and I can agree with that. It's a bit abrupt and also seems overly optimistic. There are a lot of issues raised throughout the book (her mom's health, the financial stability of Ice Dreams and her family in general, Mack's stuff, her education), and it feels like everything magically resolves. I'm assuming the epilogue was somewhat misleading and the T will be spilled in the sequel, but I don't know. Certainly there are issues with characterization of pretty much everyone outside of Olivia; they mostly feel like good starting points but are generally pretty one-note. Mack's the most developed after Olivia, followed by Jonah.

Overall, I leaned between a 3 and a 4 on this one, and some mean girl action as well as the rushed ending had me round to the three. I would absolutely recommend this for people who want a book about skating, but I'd be slightly more hesitant if you're looking for a romance primarily. ...more

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Feb 22, 2020 Isaiah rated it liked it

To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.

I got an ARC of this book.

I assumed this was a f/f romance based on the cover and I saw ice skates. That was really as far as it went. Well, I was half right. The book does have ice skates, but there is no f/f love. So I am a bit let down by the cover itself. The cover is just eh and if I hadn't read this as queer, I wouldn't have picked it up.

The plot itself is much better, sorta. Well, everything except the romance is better. The romantic plots of To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.

I got an ARC of this book.

I assumed this was a f/f romance based on the cover and I saw ice skates. That was really as far as it went. Well, I was half right. The book does have ice skates, but there is no f/f love. So I am a bit let down by the cover itself. The cover is just eh and if I hadn't read this as queer, I wouldn't have picked it up.

The plot itself is much better, sorta. Well, everything except the romance is better. The romantic plots of the book are incredibly weak. I just couldn't care less which two in the friend group were dating. The teenage drama just read as false and boring. The romance between the two main romantic leads was also pretty basic. There was instant forcing of the people around them and then it was constant physical stuff after that. The romance read more like an erotica plot, but without any sex scenes. There really were no big feelings or angst or anything I enjoy in a YA romance. If this book didn't feature a romance or the romance was less of the plot I would have enjoyed the plot more. I'm not even going to start in on the idea that jealousy means someone cares about you, because just no. This needs to stop being romanticized and normalized in anything.

The skating stuff was the good stuff. I loved learning more about skating. I loved that there was a lot of talk about family support and family pressure around skating (and other aspects of life). The way that the drive is just so intense for some people was incredibly engaging. I could have had a book just about these teens coming to terms with their futures in skating. Please leave the random kissing out. The reason I even enjoyed this book at all was all the skating plots. These were able to engage me and they were able to make me care.

The parent plots felt a bit weak. There were hints that there was a cheating plot coming up, but it fell flat. It was one of the many loose ends that just weren't tied up well. There were the issues of Jonah's parents not agreeing on how much he should skate, that was never wrapped up. I am ok with this plot still being open, since that seemed like a plot that would be on going after the story. I am surprised by the ending, because of this plot, but this may just be my aro peaking out. Love does not conquer all other dreams. I just don't understand how this particular ending happened considering the characters involved. It felt cheap and rushed.

Overall, the book was eh. There was nothing that would make this book stand out over other YA romances. If this were a coming of age book, then it would have been much better. There would have been less weird half worked out and only physical romance plots and more substance. These characters could have gone so much further. The emotions could have been more intense. There could have been more if there wasnt the focus on a romance that I didn't ship. ...more

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Mar 02, 2020 Whitney rated it liked it

Shelves: who-said-romance-was-dead, why-not-ya, readathon-reads, poc-unite, arcs-galore, lets-do-sports, arcapocalypse-2020, startonyourshelfathon

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC version of this book in exchange for an honest review. I must admit, that I expected something different from this novel. I went into it thinking this would be a hate to love, enemies to lovers type story line based on the synopsis, but that's not what this was. That's not a bad thing, just not what I was expecting. Olivia was once an Olympic hopeful, but after a disastrous competition she's all but retired and is now working at a skating Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC version of this book in exchange for an honest review. I must admit, that I expected something different from this novel. I went into it thinking this would be a hate to love, enemies to lovers type story line based on the synopsis, but that's not what this was. That's not a bad thing, just not what I was expecting. Olivia was once an Olympic hopeful, but after a disastrous competition she's all but retired and is now working at a skating rink and training center run by her famous skater parents. Her dad is never around because he's making money on the road on tour and her mother is physically present, but mentally checked out thanks to a career ending injury. Their rink seems to be going downhill and the only person that Olivia can rely on is her best friend and single mom, Mack, who also works at the rink. That's when Jonah shows up. He's a speedskater and with the money his father is willing to pay in order to get him private rink time, there may be hope for family rink after all.

This is where I feel like there was a bit of misinformation. In the description it says that Olivia is annoyed with him and there's a rivalry, but really that didn't exist. From the moment he arrived, yes Jonah was a little much with his strict diet and training schedule, but the two don't bicker, fight, or even act mildly annoyed with one another. In fact, they seem to bond and get along from the very beginning because they both understand what the other is going through. Like I said, that's not a bad thing, just not what I was expecting.

Overall, it was a cute little story, but not necessarily all that memorable. There were a lot of things explored here: cultural and parental expectations, work ethic, single motherhood, horrible relationships, absent parents, peers who don't understand what you're going through, dealing with the possibility of losing out on your dreams. All of the characters seem to be going through something and I think that it's great the author chose to tackle so many different things that teens and their families deal with on a regular basis. Trying to find the balance between a normal life and chasing your dreams can be a difficult thing to do and I think that's what the author was attempting to convey. For the most part, I think that was accomplished, but some of this story just fell flat with me. ...more

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Feb 29, 2020 Morgan rated it really liked it

Every Reason We Shouldnt is a fantastic contemporary novel, perfect for fans of To All the Boys Ive Loved Before or Fangirl. Full of heart and determination, Olivia and Jonah shine with love for their respective ice sports, their families, and eventually each other. This book was such a fun, fast-paced read that had me smiling from page one.

Olivia Kennedy is already an accomplished figure skater by the age of fifteen. But an unfortunate incident at a past competition has put her Olympic dreams Every Reason We Shouldn’t is a fantastic contemporary novel, perfect for fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before or Fangirl. Full of heart and determination, Olivia and Jonah shine with love for their respective ice sports, their families, and eventually each other. This book was such a fun, fast-paced read that had me smiling from page one.

Olivia Kennedy is already an accomplished figure skater by the age of fifteen. But an unfortunate incident at a past competition has put her Olympic dreams on hold. Jonah Choi is an incredibly devoted speed skater, also looking for a path to the Olympics. When Jonah starts training at the ice rink Olivia’s family owns, the two spark something within each other and help each other fulfill their goals and dreams.

This book checked a lot of boxes for me, especially in the romance category, and was such an enjoyable read. I loved Olivia and Jonah and how dedicated they were to their sports and how understanding they were of each other. There was a larger friend group involved throughout the book, but these two just really got each other and it was so nice to read about. The development of their relationship was also really great, from the friendly teasing in the beginning, to realizing how well they fit together romantically. I loved the exploration of all aspects of their relationship because it started early enough in the novel that it didn’t feel like instalove but they were also together for so much of the book that as the reader we actually got to see the relationship develop deeper and see both Olivia and Jonah grow as humans.

The skating aspect was great too. As a fan of the winter Olympics, I really liked the competitiveness of the characters and their strength and determination to train and meet their goals. If you love a great romance with POC representation in both characters and a fun sports/training story, then definitely pick this one up! It has a lot of heart and lot of laughter to offer.

*Thank you to TorTeen and Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. *
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Mar 18, 2020 Laura rated it liked it

I was drawn to this book because of the skating. I really did enjoy the concept of the book. It is fun and playful. I felt like the main character Olivia was a bit immature and I felt like a few of the main topics that were really important got played down in the end.
Olivia is a 15 year old girl who loves to skate and has been skating since she was very young. Her parents were skaters before she was born and they own an ice rink which is barely holding on by a thread, then comes in speed skater ...more

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Mar 01, 2020 Sydney Evans rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, read-in-2020

Thank you net galley for providing me with an e-arc of this for review.

3 stars.

This book started off as a fun and sweet contemporary about two teen skaters, one at the top and one who has recently been knocked down after a tough competition.

For the most part I enjoyed this story, especially some of our side characters like Mack and their school friends. Where I think this book struggled some was it attempted to tackle too much in one story. This wasn't a very long book, and because of that, I ...more

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Dec 27, 2019 Geoff added it

Shelves: arc, ya, net-galley

I am far from the target audience for this book (my YA days were long ago), but I have to say that this was a very fun read. Interestingly, there wasn't much conflict in the romance, none of the will they/won't they; instead the conflict came from family issues and (more interestingly) the protagonists' uncertainty about her future and whether she really did have what it takes to be a top athlete.

I disagree with some other reviewers who see the heroine as a "not like other girls" archetype; ...more

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